India, China vow to step up military-to-military ties

Beijing: A top Chinese General visited India last week and met Indian Army's top brass with both sides agreeing to step up military-to-military ties and enhancing "pragmatic" cooperation.

Gen Zhao Zongqi, commander of the Chinese PLA Western Theatre Command, and his delegation visited India recently at the invitation of the Indian Army and held talks with a host of Indian military officials including Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag.

Zhao held meetings and talks with some senior Indian military leaders during the visit, including Gen Dalbir Singh, chief of the Indian Army Staff, Lt Gen Bipin Rawat, deputy chief of the Indian Army Staff, and Lt. Gen Bakshi, commander of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army, China Military Online reported.

Zhao's visit to India from December 8 to 10 followed Gen Singh's visit here last month.

During Zhao's visit, he exchanged views on military-to- military relations between the two countries and especially the cooperation between the PLA Western Theatre Command, which looks after security along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the Indian military.

China has seven military area commands in Beijing, Nanjing, Chengdu, Jinan, Shenyang, Lanzhou and Guangzhou.

Of this, Chengdu looks after the security of India's Eastern sector in the Tibet region, including Arunachal Pradesh, while Lanzhou looks after the partly the western sector, including Kashmir region and Pakistan.

As per the new strategic zone plan, both Chengdu and Lanzhou gets integrated into strategic command region making it perhaps the biggest area for the Chinese military.

During Gen Zhao's visit, the two sides agreed to jointly implement the important consensus reached by leaders of the two countries and the relevant agreements between the two countries and militaries, promote mutual understanding, enhance pragmatic cooperation, safeguard peace and stability in border areas, and try best to make positive contributions to the healthy and stable development of the relations between the two countries and two militaries, the report said.